Harry Potter and the Skinwalkers
by Mao Hisakawa
Summary: Harry found a family in the Epsilon Knights after leaving the Dursleys in the summer before his third year, but instead of going to the Leaky Cauldron, the Grand Master of the Epsilon Knights takes him to his new apartment in the apartment complex that she owns and runs. Two years afterward is when this story starts. EaSE crossover. FanFic of FanFic Rated T for now
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: A'righty, so this is an idea that I randomly had. Feel free to send me reviews, because I think I may actually enjoy writing this. I don't particularly care if you give me flames, but keep in mind that I'll use them to keep warm. I'm freezing. XD Read, review, and enjoy!**_

Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING!

Chapter One:

Unexpected Plans

Harry was laying flat on his back, thinking hard about the events of the previous year. The basilisk at the end in the Chamber of Secrets made him start thinking. He could speak Parseltongue, which – according to Hermione – hadn't been spoken in at least a thousand years, but he hadn't known about it until that year, which made him decidedly cautious and reflective. _'I know I could speak Parseltongue before... I did it before my first year... Hang on!'_ He jerked into a sitting position on his bed, and quickly grabbed a quill and parchment, scribbling down several ideas. _'Alright, so Parseltongue... Gringotts, they might have something that can tell me if there's anything I don't know, but I'll want to do research on the subject... Hermione might be able to help me out with the research aspect. Training, as well. Running, conditioning... if I can figure out something to do for the summer, I can also sign up at the local gym that I keep seeing whenever I manage to get away from number four for any length of time...'_ Harry paused to nibble on the end of his quill, before blinking a few times as he paused. _'I could probably go right now...'_

He put the parchment and quill on his desk when he was finished, before sprawling back out on his bed, his mind whirling with the possibilities as he stared up at the ceiling of his room. He knew that the likelihood of him returning to number four, Privet Drive after his Gringotts visit was almost nil, but that meant that he needed to clean out as much as he could of the room first, and he wanted to start the conditioning as soon as he could. That last thought held onto him until sleep claimed him.

At six o'clock AM, Harry got up, having woken up at about 5:30 AM as per his usual wake-up time, and dragged himself outside to go jogging. He spent about an hour jogging out, then jogging back, so it was roughly eight o'clock when he returned. He quickly got on the shower, the hot water helping relax his muscles as well as rid him of the sweat that the workout had given him, and got out, drying and dressing quickly, before heading down to the kitchen to make breakfast for the Dursleys and himself, deciding to ignore what they said about 'wasting food'. If he was going to work on endurance and conditioning, then he was going to do it his way, and that included lots of food.

After breakfast, he cleaned up, then headed out to the yard to weed, careful not to let himself stay still for too long, still fairly limber from his run, and not wanting to lose that. Several hours later, he finished weeding, mowed the yard, did a pack of thirty push-ups and sit-ups, then promptly went jogging again. When he was finished, he started doing make-shift pull-ups, though he was only able to do two or three of them. When he finally managed to drag himself back into the Dursley's home, he got into the shower again, then stretched to prevent stiffness as much as possible, before collapsing on his bed, mentally promising to write a letter to Gringotts about setting up a time for the appointment and as a chance for him to find out what the Goblin Nation had by way of inheritance rituals.

**Almost a month later:**

Harry looked at himself in the mirror, and smirked. He'd grown several inches, and put on some muscle, although not much, which he expected, after all, one doesn't become muscle-man with just a month of lean-muscle building workouts. And with the scars that littered his body, he'd be surprised if anyone asked about them. A few people had, and he'd shown scary proficiency with lying to someone's face by telling them that he used to get into knife-fights a lot with a perfectly straight face, like he was just discussing the weather. The residents of Magnolia Crescent attempted to avoid the boy like the plague from then on. He'd let his hair grow out, and it now hung in a low pony-tail that reached about halfway down his shoulder-blades thanks to an unexpected spurt of magic while he was in the middle of practicing something he'd seen a dojo doing at night. His bangs hid his scar perfectly, and from how quickly his hair was growing, he'd probably have hair that fell to the middle of his back, roughly.

He smiled a little wider, before going out for another jog to start off his day, which was followed by the usual tedious chore-load, before heading back inside. He jogged upstairs, cat-like, and started stroking Hedwig, who enjoyed the jogs as much as he did, because they gave him a reason to let her out, and the familiar often joined in with her master with the morning and evening exercise. He'd upgraded his workout to about a hundred pushups and situps, on top of a faster jog so he could cover more ground faster.

Hedwig rubbed her head against Harry's hand, ruffling her feathers softly as she preened in the attention, making him laugh softly. Soon, far too soon for both human and owl, he stopped, and sat at the desk in his tiny room, and started drafting letters to his friends and Gringotts. He figured that he could get the major information out of the way, such as bank statements and possibly a full account audit, as well as setting up periodic audits. He also inquired as to when a Gringotts employee would be free to handle the Inheritance Ritual, as well as a request for a date and time – preferably the summer next – to handle everything that may come up.

He signed all the letters as Hedwig fluttered over to the desk, holding out a leg for him to attach the letters to. Harry attached them, before gently stroking her feathers again. "Be safe, girl," he said softly. "Fly fast, wind beneath thy wings easing your flight, and the stars above guarding you from all that seek to harm you." He wasn't entirely sure why he'd said that, but it flowed fairly naturally off his tongue.

Hedwig gave him a searching look, before gently bumping her head against his hand, nibbling his fingers as if to say, 'I'll be fine.' Harry smiled at her, before the owl took off, heading for his friends and Gringotts. Harry watched her white profile as she flew away, before turning to finish the chores, and going out for another jog.

And so, Harry's summer passed quietly, though fairly eventfully. Letters fairly flew between Harry and his friends, and he got a Gringotts bank statement with an attached note stating that it was the latest sent by messenger hawk specially bred to be more magically resistant and not nearly as prone to tampering, often attacking the person attempting to tamper with the contents of whatever said hawk was carrying.

It was a quiet summer overall, Harry decided, stretching out on his bed. He figured it was about time to head downstairs where his Uncle Vernon's sister was sitting in the dining room, wondering – not for the first time – how the hell he was supposed to keep his temper from making her expand like a balloon like he'd entertained safely in his skull a few minutes' prior. As he walked into the room, he spotted a tall young woman with semi-straight dark brown hair that fell down to the middle of her back in the entryway, playing with a key-chain that appeared to have a shield of some kind on it, tossing it up and down, up and down, the keys jingling softly as they bounced off each other, the chain, and the shield. Chocolate brown eyes darted over to him, examining him in an instant, before turning back to the brewing drunken conversation and – if Harry's instincts were right – a drunken fight. He examined Aunt Marge, taking in the rosy blush she had from the wine, and winced inwardly – he was probably going to get into an argument with her.

The woman recaptured his attention, though, and he quickly took in her heart-shaped face, strong jaw, slightly visible cleft chin, the warmth in her almond-shaped chocolate brown eyes, her tall, lithe build, and the fact that she was wearing a dark gray, almost smokey-gray, long-sleeved, oddly patterned T-shirt, and a sleeveless lighter gray shirt over the top of it. Faded dark pants that looked oddly greenish on the thighs where they were faded topped off the black boots that Harry had a feeling were more for heavy lifting, and as such were probably pretty heavy. She was about six feet, one inch, Harry guessed, and based off of her rough size probably weighed about a hundred and eighty pounds. A black wrist-watch was on her left wrist, and a long trench coat was tossed almost carelessly over a nearby chair-back.

The Dursleys, including the drunken Marge, were all giving her odd looks, almost as though they were frightened of her. She sized him up quietly, before nodding slightly to herself, as though he had passed whatever non-verbal test she'd given him, before saying, her voice soft but no less compelling, "Hey. Call me whatever you like, but my actual name is Anne White."

Harry stuck his hand out to her. "I'm Harry," he replied. "Harry Potter."

He was understandably surprised when she shook his hand with a surprisingly firm grip, before laughing softly at the expression on his face. She sobered up fairly quickly. "I'm fairly sure you know how this is going to play out, Harry. Might as well get it over, yeah? You can stay with me afterward."

Harry stared at her in befuddled confusion. "What..." he trailed off, very confused.

Anne waved a hand at him. "I'll explain later," she said. "Might as well get this confrontation over, yeah?"

"Yeah." Harry steeled himself as he stepped into the dining room proper, where Aunt Marge had already had quite a lot of wine, Harry could see it. Her huge face was very red, and he could almost feel Anne wince in sympathy behind him.

"Just a small one, then," she chuckled. "A bit more than that . . . and a bit more . . . that's the ticket."

Dudley was eating his fourth slice of pie, Aunt Petunia sipping coffee with her little finger sticking out, and Harry could reliably see Anne cracking up at the sight of it, as it made her look slightly ridiculous. Harry really wanted to disappear into his bedroom, but he met Uncle Vernon's angry little eyes and knew he would have to sit it out, though he felt Anne's comforting – though confusing – presence behind him.

"Aah," said Aunt Marge, smaking her lips and putting the empty brandy glass back down. "Excellent nosh, Petunia. It's normally just a fry-up for me of an evening, with twelve dogs to look after. . . ." She burped richly and patted her great tweed stomach. "Pardon me. But I do like to see a healthy-sized boy," she went on, winking at Dudley. "You'll be a proper-sized man, Dudders, like your father. Yes, I'll have a spot more brandy, Vernon. . . ."

"Now this one here –"

She jerked her head at Harry, who felt his stomach clench. _The Handbook_, he thought quickly.

"This one's got a mean, runty look about him. You get that with dogs. I had Colonel Fubster drown one last year. Ratty little thing it was. Weak. Underbred."

Harry was trying to remember page twelve of his book: _A Charm to Cure Reluctant Reversers._

"It all comes down to blood, as I was saying the other day. Bad blood will out. Now, I'm saying nothing against your family, Petunia" – she patted Petunia's bony hand with her shovel-like one – "but your sister was a bad egg. They turn up in the best families. Then she ran off with a wastrel and here's the result right in front of us."

Anne was starting to lose her patience, so she slowly stepped forward, setting on hand on Harry's shoulder before she passed him, an odd knife in her hand as she approached Marge. "_You're eating my patience, Marge Dursley_." Anne's voice was decidedly deadly as she tossed the double edged dagger to her right hand, the odd gap through the center of the blade making it look like an odd tuning fork with edges. She sheathed it, making the blade disappear as she turned, stalking away back to her previous position, before turning to Harry. "I'd recommend you pack, Harry," she said. "If I have anything to say about this, you won't be returning here to this..." She looked at the Dursleys over her shoulder with disgust, "filth."

Vernon roared with rage at that last comment, surging to his feet, only to have Anne's dagger suddenly in her hand and pointed at him. "Make another move, Dursley, and you'll find yourself airless," she said flatly, her hand not wavering. "You speak ill of the dead, and you will find yourself with much, much more than a barely-trained wizard on your hands." Her tone was no-nonsense, although the strange edge of fury that sharpened her words made Dursley pale and sit back down heavily.

Harry had made his escape the minute Anne's dagger had appeared in her hand and pointed at Vernon, quickly running upstairs to grab his trunk, and letting Hedwig out of her cage upstairs so that she could go fly. "Find me where I'll be, girl," he whispered urgently. "It's not safe here anymore."

Hedwig looked into his eyes searchingly, before bobbing her head in an unmistakable nod, soon flying out of the bedroom window and into the cool night air. When Harry came back into the kitchen, leaving the cage and trunk in the hallway, Anne was wearing her black trench coat, and her dagger was no-where to be seen, though the Dursleys were terrified of her. The woman in question smiled brightly at Harry when she spotted him. "Ready to go?" she asked.

Harry nodded, and they were soon out on Privet Drive, and they walked along, Anne carrying Harry's trunk with little effort on her part, until they were a good distance away, before nudging Harry, and her dagger appeared in her hand again, making him nervous, until she raised it in the street. Much to her surprise, a purple triple-decker bus came out of thin air with a loud _BANG!_, bright light blinding both of them. A conductor in a purple uniform leapt out of the bus and began to speak loudly to the night.

"Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard. Just stick out your wand hand, step on board, and we can take you anywhere you want to go. My name is Stan Shunpike, and I will be your conductor this eve –"

Anne muttered something that sounded like 'old meddlesome fool playing games', which shut the conductor up quickly. "Who're you, miss?" he demanded rudely.

Anne raised an eyebrow at his blatant arrogance, before saying simply, "I could be your worst nightmare, Stan Shunpike. Take us where we want to go, and no blood will be spilled this night. Your blood."

Stan was nervous, but he let them both on board. "Where are you two headed?" he asked.

"London," replied Anne, before giving him an address.

With another almighty _BANG!_ the Knight Bus disappeared into the night.

When the Knight Bus stopped outside of the only house in an abandoned district of the city of London, Anne and Harry stepped out of the Bus, and into the house. "Welcome to my humble abode, Harry," said Anne calmly. "You'll be staying here when not at Hogwarts, alright?"

Harry nodded, eyeing the building distrustfully. It looked like it was about to collapse at any given moment, given the way it was leaning. Anne chuckled at his distrustful look. "It looks better inside," she promised. "The building isn't in any danger of collapsing, it just looks that way. This whole section of London is dillapidated and run-down, so having a fixed-up building in the center of this place is like sticking a neon sign to your forehead. Much better to keep it looking dillapidated. The whole building is actually mine, as this is, or rather... _was_, I should say, an apartment complex. Welcome, Harry, to Skyline Heights Apartments. I happen to be the landlord, so if you need something, well..." she grinned at him. "You know who to talk to. Miss Anne White, your landlord. I trust you not to do anything _too_ stupid, because, let's face it, we all do stupid shit. Just try to keep the noise and idiocy down around here. You may be killed by one of the other residents because of it." She tossed him a set of keys with the same shield key-chain that she had had out earlier, before pulling her own out so she could unlock the front gate to the place. They stepped inside, as she added, "You're in room twelve thirty seven, on the second floor. You can do pretty close to whatever you want in this place, but no disturbing the other guests, you don't want to have to deal with the people I put up with regularly."

"Now that hurts, Anne," said an odd man with short black hair in the courtyard. "You only put up with us?"

Anne just grinned at him. "Put up with you, no, put up with your antics, yes. Demos Chaoscoat, Harry Potter. Harry, this is your floor-mate Demos." She fixed Demos with a flat look. "I trust you'll take care of Harry, Mister Chaoscoat. If you don't, you'll live long enough to regret failing that simple directive, understand?" Her voice had become startlingly dangerous.

Demos immediately bowed. "Aye, Mistress," he replied quickly, before showing Harry to his room. He took one look at Harry's confused expression, and elaborated more than he thought he should. "We have all kinds of races here, as this is a magical refuge. Mistress White is often known to be fair, but she's very dangerous to cross. She managed to put a Vampire Lord flat on their face without much in the way of effort, and we have yet to figure out if she's just a human or something else entirely."

Harry nodded in understanding. "I hope you don't mind a few questions," he said slowly. At Devos' nod, Harry continued, "This is a refuge for races? If you don't mind a semi-personal question, what race are you? And what's with this shield key-chain?"

Devos laughed. "Jumping right into the deep end, aren't you? Well, here's your room, you unlock it with this key." He pointed at one of the seven keys. "Yes, this is a refuge for races. Skyline Heights is often considered one of the premier race homes in Britain, seeing as Mistress White refuses to accept that incompetent Ministry's laws regarding werewolves and such. She sees them as people who need help and support, not mindless and dangerous animals. A Remus Lupin has actually been offered a room here, multiple times, in fact, but he kept turning the offer down. Something about him being a danger regardless." Devos snorted. "I highly doubt he could hurt a fly in this place, a were got loose once, and White had her pinned in almost no time flat before she could hurt anyone. No, I don't mind that kind of personal question, as you could probably tell, I'm a dwarf. I use the third key instead of the first, seeing as Dwarves prefer the underground, so my apartment is very different than yours. The shield key-chain is partly so you don't lose your keys, partly to show that you're under Mistress White's protection now, and partly to show that she saw something in you that she saw in few others. She'll explain later, probably some-time this week, if your lucky. Now, go rest, lad. The remaining questions can wait until morning." With that, the Dwarf stomped off, his short, stalky build suddenly making sense to Harry, who turned to his room's door, and unlocked it using the key that he'd been shown, before cautiously opening the door. The apartment was very dark, and very quiet, so he quietly turned on the lightswitch nearby, illuminating the hallway. There was a left turn off it, which, when he investigated further, lead to a kitchen, which wasn't stocked, he saw, so he set a quill and parchment on the shining-ly clean counter from his trunk, before looking around. There was a coat closet, a guest room, a washroom, the master bedroom, and a dining room. There was a small covered porch out back, which confused him, but as he examined the place, he began to feel something strange. A sense of belonging.

A slow smile crept across Harry's face, and he quickly stretched out in the currently-bare master bedroom, before having a sudden idea. "Dobby!" he called. With a soft pop, the house-elf appeared in front of Harry.

"Master Harry Potter, sir!" said Dobby, nearly shouting as he hugged Harry hard. "Master Harry Potter, sir called Dobby, sir, what can Dobby do for sir?"

"Air!" gasped Harry, which resulted in Dobby releasing Harry immediately, but Harry stopped him before he could punish himself for hurting Harry, or so the house-elf saw it. "And no punishing yourself for that," he snapped quickly. Dobby nodded quickly. "I was hoping to hire you as my personal house-elf, Dobby."

Dobby was speechless, doing a remarkably accurate impression of a stranded fish for several minutes, before glomping Harry again, sobbing, "Master Harry Potter sir wants Dobby to work for him! Thank you, Master Harry Potter sir!"

Harry smiled at Dobby, gently resting one hand on the back of his new house-elf. "I'll pay whatever you need so that you can get to work immediately," offered Harry. "Proper uniform and all. I want you to look good, as well as get this apartment furnished."

Dobby looked around, examining the apartment, wandering around, before nodding. "Dobby can do that, Master Harry Potter, sir," said the house-elf, returning to Harry's side.

Harry nodded, and said, "Dobby, go rest. We'll start the renovations and furnishing tomorrow."

Devos was talking to one of the other Dwarves on the second floor when Anne approached him. The Dwarf quickly turned, and with his companion following suit, bowed to her. "Mistress White, how can we help you?" he asked, straightening.

Anne smiled slightly at the formality. "First, drop the formality, Devos. You know I hate it. What I want to know is how Mister Potter is coming along in terms of his stay here," she said.

Devos stroked his black beard with one hand. "You know I won't let it go, simply because it bothers you, right?" he teased Anne. "Harry seems to have settled in well, and from what I can tell, he's currently out job-hunting in Diagon Alley. He's received several distressed letters from people I would loosely call friends, given that they both had compulsion charms on them."

Anne's eyes narrowed. "Sounds like a meddlesome old man needs to be taught a lesson," she said after a moment. "Good thing I've been holding onto the letter said meddlesome old fool sent me all those years ago."

Devos nodded. "I trust you'll be going with Harry, then?" he asked.

Anne nodded. "It's not in my race's nature to just leave a meddler in place, like a fat spider in the center of their web," she said with a slightly evil grin. "You think the fights the males have are intense, you have yet to see me meet one of my kin. Female fights are usually well-hidden, but when we get involved, it's the stuff of legend." She shook her head slightly, her smile dropping. "I'll have to go to Diagon Alley, though... Think you can handle the bills while I'm away?"

"Of course, Mistress," replied Devos. "There've been few times where someone's driven you to interfere directly, and I'm interested to see what the old fool's been doing in that castle when you come pounding on his door."

"Assuming he even allows me into the castle," replied Anne sourly. "You get my cell magic-proofed?"

Devos nodded again, handing said cell phone over. "Hacked a few nets in the process, so you have reception damn near everywhere," he replied. "Don't be a stranger. We both know that the Epsilon Knights aren't going to take your disappearance well."

Anne made a face at the reminder. "I understand how I'm the Grand Master, but how does that make _me_ the most important person in the Knights?" she asked irritably. "I keep hearing shit like 'You're too important to lose' despite the fact that I already have a successor in mind and have even announced it, or 'There's something that you have to do, but this is not it' with 'this' being anything from killing to dying." She snorted. "You have any idea how it feels to be mollycoddled by the order you _founded_?"

Devos' smirk at her just made her want to slap him. "Let's see how you'd like it if you had at least six guards on your back at all times anywhere but headquarters," she said flatly, making Devos wince.

"Yeah... No," he said, raising both callused hands in the air in surrender. "No thank you. I might kill anyone who followed me."

Anne snorted, turning and heading back to her room, room triple oh-one. She made a face at the reminder, before stepping inside, and immediately made a beeline for her bathroom so she could soak and plot. Assuming she didn't fall asleep, she thought wryly. What a glorious end. Drowning from sleeping in the tub. She snorted with laughter. "Oh, let's see what tomorrow brings," she said out loud, laughter coloring her voice.


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: So this is the ONLY time I'm saying this. The disclaimer is going to be placed in the first chapter, and that's all. If I feel a need to post something in the Author's Note for a review, then I will, but I'm not going to give myself a headache with putting the disclaimer in every chapter. Partly cause I doubt I'll remember to, partly because I know that I will just get sick of it eventually anyway. So Disclaimers are first chapter material only. Now, since I have my little rant corner done, I need a beta. Feel free to PM me for the position.**_

Chapter Two:

Skyline Heights

Harry was laying flat on his back on his bed in number 1237 Skyline Heights, London. He couldn't believe that not only did he have his own room, he had a place to call home. He was even starting to make friends with several of the other residents and a few coworkers in Flourish and Blotts, once they got over the fact that _Harry Potter_ wanted to work for them. Long, quiet hours in a book store, and he was paid a fair wage. Harry had gone to Gringotts the wizarding bank to open a new vault where his work funds would go so that he could pay his bills without getting confused with how much he had access to regarding his pay.

Anne was friendly, in her own slightly severe but reasonably strict way, Devos was a blast to be around, managing to make his human friend laugh whenever he was feeling down, and he'd even made friends with a werewolf three doors down by the name of Horizon Blackfang. Horizon was a very friendly girl, even with her 'furry little problem', as she'd heard another were put it. She was startled to find that after days on end where he'd just stay with her, she realized what had happened; She'd somehow managed to end up with Harry as part of her pack. When she realized that, she glomped him, thanking him over and over. Harry laughed, hugging her back enthusiastically.

Anne had peaked in to see the werewolf hugging the daylights out of Harry, and had simply smiled, quietly pulling back out of the room. Since then, Harry had been paying not only his own bills and rent, but also Horizon's. When she found out, though, her reaction was quite amusing when she realized that Harry was Harry _Potter_, the Boy-Who-Won't-Bloody-Die, as Harry put it, which made Devos roar with laughter, Horizon joining in, and even managed to get a bell-like laugh from Anne, who agreed completely with the sentiment. As the months passed, Harry realized that the inhabitants of Skyline Heights were becoming his family as much as they were becoming his friends, and he wasn't sure if that scared him or not. Anne managed to put his fears to rest by simply saying, "While your home life sucked ass, you have us now. Any who'd dare do you harm would have Horizon, myself, at least one clan of Dwarves who I know for a _fact_ have taken a liking to you, the Goblins, and possibly even the Weasley twins you keep talking about after them. Do you really want to try to argue with _all of us_?" The wry smile she'd given him had told him all he needed to know. She'd felt the same way, and promptly ended up with a massive family. That was what the Epsilon Knights were: a family. The band of merry warriors that trained hard every day, enjoyed each moment with each other, and Harry was a part of that, had become a part of that the minute he'd been given his own shield. He'd been floored when he found out that by being given the shield – which was a singular honor in itself, as he'd been given it by the _Grand Master_ of the Epsilon Knights – his name had been inscribed on the rolls of the Knights for eons to come.

Said Grand Master was currently walking towards him, and something in her step warned him that he probably wouldn't like what was coming. Anne stopped in front of him, thinking hard about how to tell him that she was coming with him, before shrugging mentally. "I'm coming with you," she stated bluntly, before raising a hand against the possible arguments against why she shouldn't. "I have a bit of the Eye as that crazy bat in the Divination Tower of Hogwarts says, and something tells me that you're going to need more than a bit of casual muscle to make it through the next few years. I may be older than I look, but I'm still young enough to join in with all you youngsters."

Harry found another question to ask her right then. "What race are you?" he asked curiously.

Anne stared at him in complete and utter shock, before laughing. "You completely ignored the whole 'I'm coming with you' thing in favor of finding out what I am? You are one strange boy, Harry," she said, giggling. "I'm a variation on a skinwalker. I can look like anyone I want to, what you're seeing is the true me." She nodded at his dumbfounded look. "My race takes combat and deception almost as seriously as we do the finer arts. We much prefer being anti-social, although the Order of Knights was kind of a spur-of-the-moment decision." She grinned at him. "But who cares, we're all family here."

At that, Harry smiled happily at her. One of his few, genuinely happy smiles, like when he'd gotten the job at Flourish and Blotts, and again when he realized that his new family wasn't going to abandon him. Anne wished deep in the depths of her heart that she could keep that smile on his face, but she knew, she _knew_ what the war would take. Having dodged one proverbial bullet, she prayed that she hadn't underestimated him. Harry looked oddly thoughtful, before nodding in agreement. "We're all family here," he confirmed.

Fifth Year. Anne groaned to herself in the comfort of her own apartment in Skyline Heights. She didn't know why she'd had the completely idiotic idea of joining Harry's escapades, but she had, and she even had a few scars to prove it. _Dementors_, the sick perversions of nature, had been ordered to protect the school not long after she'd saved him from what she frequently heard him refer to as Durzkaban, only to have him faint on the train, forcing her to utilize some of her more base instincts to protect him. Horizon had gone ape-shit on her with a Howler, only to get one in righteous return. Anne's lips turned up slightly as she remembered the letter recording her spectacular blow-up.

_"ANNE CERELIA WHITE! WHAT THE BLOODY HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, ENDANGERING MY PACK LIKE THAT!" shrieked the Howler that Horizon had sent Anne in the middle of the Great Hall the day after. Anne sighed, and tuned out the rest of the screamed message, until it was done, before grabbing the attention of her head of house, who happened to be McGonagall – the irony wasn't lost to either Anne or Harry, and stalked out of the Great Hall to an empty classroom that had several high-level _Muffliato_'s cast around it._

_ After finding out how to start and incant the Howler, she took a deep breath. "HORIZON MELODY BLACKFANG, HOW DARE YOU THINK I WOULD WILLINGLY PUT _OUR PACK _IN DANGER! I HAD NO ADVANCE WARNING ABOUT THOSE FOUL ABOMINATIONS UNTIL LITERALLY THE DAY BEFORE WE LEFT, AND NO TIME AT ALL TO PREPARE FOR THEM! I THINK YOU SHOULD BE WRITING ME A LETTER, MISS BLACKFANG, APOLOGIZING FOR A HOWLER THAT SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN SENT IN THE FIRST PLACE! I SWEAR TO THE GODDESS, IF I FIND OUT THAT YOU SEEM TO THINK THAT THE INCOMPETENT MINISTRY AND INCOMPETENT MINISTER HAS ANYTHING TO DO WITH ME, YOU'RE BLIND! IF I DID, DO YOU THINK YOU'D HAVE THAT NICE APARTMENT YOU DO AS WELL AS PROPER PROVISIONS FOR THE FULL MOONS?" Anne had gone off for over an hour, her angry shouts soon breaking the _Muffliato_'s that surrounded the classroom with a fair bit of ease. She finished with a "Say hi to Devos for me, will you?" and sent it off._

_ At lunch that same day a harried-looking owl came swooping in to drop a letter in Anne's lap and swooped back out. Anne had torn the letter open, and hummed softly, before folding it back up and placing it in her bag before going back to her food._

When Anne had come home that summer, Horizon had been so apologetic it had almost made Anne cry. Seeing the barely-hidden tears behind those beautiful amber eyes made her wish she hadn't had to go off like that, but she didn't have a choice. She couldn't be associated with that imbecile Fudge or his incompetent Ministry. If she was, then she could lose more than just her job, she could lose her family, her home, and, more importantly, she would lose Harry. She refused to let that happen, so when Horizon slowly sank to her knees, finally just letting go of her tears, Anne had knelt next to her and pulled Horizon into her arms, letting the were cry herself out on her shoulder. Afterward, completely exhausted, Horizon let Anne pick her up and carry her into Anne's apartment, where she gently held the slighter girl close to her.

That was the sight that Devos and Harry had been treated to when they came in to find out what had happened to Horizon; Horizon curled up against Anne, with Anne's arm wrapped around her waist. Harry had blushed bright red, and Devos just chuckled softly. "I'm guessing she needs the contact?" he asked softly.

Anne nodded. "She came very close to not just losing her home but her pack as well," she replied, her voice equally soft as a distressed noise came from Horizon resulting in Anne gently pulling her closer. "Even she knows that I will not associate with those foul abominations, so finding out that one of her pack was threatened by them while I was there..." Anne shook her head slowly, "it scared her. Badly. The follow-up Howler I'd sent in reply reduced her to this state. She actually collapsed into tears when I just stood there, looking at her. I didn't even say whether she was staying or leaving, abject despair..."

Devos nodded, and Harry suddenly understood, quickly moving to Horizon's other side, gently stroking her hair with one hand. Horizon ducked her head slightly before looking at him, her amber eyes asking if he would forgive her. Those same amber eyes widened as he leaned a little farther to press a gentle kiss against her forehead. "Forgiveness was given when I saw you like that." His voice was quiet and full of sorrow. Anne's free hand gently worked Harry's scalp, resulting in a quiet murr, telling her that while he wanted it to stop, he didn't want her to stop more.

"Fifth year," she said softly.

Harry groaned softly with a nod. "I'm guessing something's going to royally fuck up this year, isn't it?" he asked.

Anne suppressed a smirk at the vulgar term. He was coming 'round, and so was Dobby, his house-elf. Ever since she'd insisted that he call everyone by name, Dobby was undergoing a transformation that many didn't believe house-elves could make. He was starting to speak properly now and was extremely happy to not only have his own apartment, but to have an entire complex to work with. Her sad smile was all it took to make him groan. "Great... the Dark Wanker is back, the _Prophet _is having yet another field-day with my reputation, not that I particularly care anyway, last year had a disguised Death Muncher as a teacher..." he sighed irritably. "Who's next?"

Anne paused, making a face at the vision presented her. "If you ever hear me call her Dumbitch to her face, get everyone out of there and get a teacher," she replied. "Dolores Jane Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary of the Ministry."

"Oh, just fucking wonderful..." sighed Harry, calmly sliding into place on Anne's other side, curling up against the two women. "Can't I have a normal year for once?" he asked mournfully.

Anne shrugged, wrapping her arms around both were and human. "If nothing else, you learned a lot," she said philosophically.

"That Hermione was under an incredibly powerful Compulsion charm since almost day one?" replied Harry with an irritable snort.

"Well, there is that," admitted Anne as Horizon listened with growing surprise and horror. "But you know Moldyshorts and his Death Munchers are back –" the nickname made Horizon giggle and Harry grin, "You know that if nothing else you can get away," cue flashback to the graveyard, "and finally, you know that you have all of us coming to haul your ass out of the fire and back into the frying pan if necessary." She said the last part with no small amount of amusement.

"I also learned how to defend against Dementors," said Harry, thoughtfully.

Anne nodded, and Horizon couldn't help gently nuzzling Harry, despite being human for the time being. Harry smiled, gently nuzzling Horizon back. "And you know that we have your back, Harry," said Anne quietly.

The happy smile that Harry flashed her had her smiling back at his obvious enthusiasm and genuine happiness of having a family that loved him, cherished him, and above all, wouldn't abandon him, no matter how many of them were supposedly 'Dark' creatures. After all, love is forever, right?

Anne saw the letter coming and sighed. Of all the things to break the moment... "Harry," she said slowly. "Have you performed any magic outside of your room?"

Harry shook his head confusedly. "No, Anne," he replied. "Why do you ask?"

Anne pointed at the owl on the railing, looking into the room. "That's a Ministry Owl, Harry. It's coming for one of us, and the only one the media currently has a vendetta against is you," she replied sourly. "Get your sorry feathered ass in here so you can go back on your way."

The owl gave her an offended look, but flew to her, dropped the letter on her lap, and flew back out as Horizon and Harry opened the letter together, in a rare show of teamwork using one arm each. "Let's see what the incompetent Ministry has decided to do this time," she sighed, scanning the letter with both of them.

Dear Mr. Potter,

We have received intelligence that you performed the Patronus Charm at twenty-three past nine in a Muggle-inhabited area and in the presence of a Muggle.

The severity of this breach of the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery has resulted in your expulsion from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Ministry representatives will be calling at your place of residence shortly to destroy your wand.

As you have already received an official warning for a previous offense under section 13 of the International Confederation of Wizards' Statute of Secrecy, we regret to inform you that your presence is required at a disciplinary hearing at the Ministry of Magic at 9 A.M. on August 12th.

Hoping you are well,

Yours sincerely,

Mafalda Hopkirk

Improper Use of Magic Office

_Ministry of Magic_

This hissed curse from Anne made Harry wonder what else was going to happen. She quickly turned to look at Harry, demanding, "Have you been anywhere near Privet Drive recently?" Harry, wide-eyed, shook his head.

"I haven't been anywhere near that place in at least two years," he said.

Anne frowned, thinking hard, and started muttering, "Patronus Charm... means Dementors... why the hell... Fudge, should've figured..."

Horizon's eyes widened slightly. "That incompetent fool -"

Anne nodded. "He has."

"Then that means..."

"Courtroom Ten."

"Do you know what time?"

"I'd recommend leaving at about five in the morning." Anne looked up at Harry. "And I'm coming with you. Fudge is trying to railroad you out of Hogwarts. If Aurors show up, _do nothing_. Don't hand over your wand, don't leave your room. I'm landlord, I can legally kick them off my land for trying to take one of my tenants without proper legal authority. My problem will be if that bitch of a toad is there, too. Horizon," here, Anne turned to look at the were. "I'll need backup."

"You have my wand," said Horizon immediately, her golden eyes blazing.

Anne looked up at Devos, her question wordless. Devos nodded, his dark eyes looking furious. "We won't let them take him off our land," he said flatly. "The Epsilon Knights will make an appearance in full. Harry will leave his wand in his room, but take up arms with the rest of us."

Anne hesitated, before her brown eyes hardened. "Aye. Let's get ready."

Twenty minutes later, two dozen witches and wizards apparated to the gates outside the Skyline Heights Apartment Complex, where almost double their number were waiting, clad in full Goblin-made steel, wielding goblin blades and battle magics, behind the closed gates. After an eternity of waiting, or so it felt, a final _crack_ was heard, and the fat visage of the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic made her appearance. The gate opened smoothly, despite their weathered and beaten appearance, and a lone woman dressed in goblin steel with a sword at her hip walked out to meet the Auror force.

"What business do you have here, Aurors?" asked the woman calmly, the shield emblazoned on her left pauldron speaking clearly for her. This was the Grand Master of the Epsilon Knights, a reknowned band of warriors and mages. The Aurors shifted slightly, realizing they were out-classed and out-gunned.

"We have come to arrest Harry James Potter and snap his wand," announced Dolores, who was promptly ignored, her eyes boring into the lead Auror's.

"We're here to arrest Harry James Potter," said the wizard, finally.

"Do you have a warrant?" asked the Grand Master.

Dolores again tried to force her way into the situation, only to find the tip of the Grand Master's sword at her throat. "Speak again, toad, and you'll taste cold goblin steel." The Grand Master's tone was steely and almost as cold as her blade. Dolores swallowed hard and stepped back as the Grand Master looked back at the lead Auror sheathing her blade slowly. "Do you have a warrant for his arrest, Auror?" The sword _clinked_ back into place.

The Auror started sweating lightly as he pulled a paper from his robes. The Grand Master took it, and perused the document, before pointing out that the paper was not only illegal but the signature of the DMLE head was clearly faked, as well as several other loopholes, before shredding it. "Mister Potter has been staying in my complex for well over two years now," she stated flatly. "If I, as his landlord, receive any more faked charges, then I will not hesitate to decapitate the Ministry. Am I understood?"

The Aurors straightened before freezing at the cold look on the woman's face as she looked back at the toad, who looked ready to explode. "Twenty-four."

The Auror who was leading the squads blinked in confusion. "Excuse me, Grand Master?"

"Twenty-four. Twenty-four fully-trained Aurors... for one half-trained boy." The Grand Master's cold brown eyes were boring into Dolores'. "For something so inconsequential as misuse of magic, a notice would've sufficed. Not a full two squads for one wizard who has yet to actually do anything considered Dark."

That made the Aurors pause. "With your permission, Grand Master," said the head Auror. "I would like to return both squads to Headquarters, and talk with Madame Bones."

The Grand Master nodded to the Auror. "Tell Madame Bones that Grand Master White wishes to speak with her at her earliest opportunity. This year will be interesting."

The Auror nodded again, before apparating away with every single Auror that had arrived. Just then, Madame Umbridge seemed to regain her voice. "You dare threaten a Ministry employee?" she simpered, before her facade crashed and burned. "I will have you up before the Wizengamot on charges for this." Umbridge got into the impassive Grand Master's face. "I don't care who you are, or who you think you are, Grand Master," she hissed. "I am the Ministers Undersecretary."

"Which means that you should know when you are speaking to your betters, witch," said Anne, turning her back on the pissed witch and walking away, clinking softly with every step as she walked back through the gates and into the courtyard as the gates closed behind her with a soft _clank_. Harry immediately hugged Anne tightly, followed closely by Horizon. Anne tilted her face up to the sky, whispering, "Will we ever be left alone by those idiots?"

Devos shook his head as he shrugged. "I couldn't tell you for sure, Grand Master," he replied. "All I know is, the look on that witch- excuse me, she's not, that _bitch_'s face when you told her that she was being rude then turning your back on her seemed like a fool-hardy thing to do. She was pissed before, now she's going to be after your blood."

Anne laughed slightly. "When has that ever bothered any of us? We all have someone out for our blood, Harry and I just happen to have evil megalomaniacs with superiority and inferiority complexes about a mile wide each," she commented, grinning. "Mine's after me because the Epsilon Knights quite thoroughly trounced the Ebony Knights, and Lord Moldyshorts is after Harry because of some obscure prophecy, far as I can tell. That and the fact that Harry is a walking, living, breathing reminder of how he failed to kill someone with the supposedly unstoppable Killing Curse." She wrapped her arms around Horizon and Harry. "Horizon just happens to have that Greyback fucker after her." With that, the three of them walked into room triple-oh-one, where they curled up on the couch together.

Horizon commented, "This year is going to be interesting."

Anne nodded, resting her cheek against the top of Horizon's head. "Indeed, it will be. Harry, fair warning... prepare for the unexpected near the end of the year. There's a tragedy and a release of sorts for you."

Harry looked confused. "Why?" he asked. The look he got in answer was sad and relieved at the same time.

"Treat each day with the Dogfather as if it's his last," was Horizon's surprising answer. "I get the feeling that he won't live past this year unless something drastically changes." She felt Anne's slow, tired nod.

Not too long afterward, the three of them slipped into a dreamless slumber, Harry and Horizon curled into Anne, and that was how Devos saw them. It didn't take long before he snapped a quick picture, and quietly closed the door. He posted a guard on it, saying lowly, "If anyone bothers those three you will hear from me, understand?"

The guard saluted. "Yes, sir!"

"I'll set up a guard shift for the three of them, they're going to be in the thick of this, and I'll see if I can't figure out how to get Horizon into Hogwarts with both of them," said Devos, turning to walk away. "Your shift is for tonight. I mean it, Sir Jackson. If anyone wakes those three, they'll answer to me."

"I won't fail you in this duty, sir!" called Sir Jackson softly as Devos started walking away.

"I pray you won't, Sir Jackson. There are few that can get in here, but if any of the Knights start clamoring, tell them that Devos ordered you to keep the area quiet to avoid waking the Grand Master and her two most trusted and loved people safe and sleeping," replied Devos. "I pray you won't. Because you won't live long enough to regret it if you do."


End file.
